Mismanagement irks artisans

A month-long Craft Fair and Folk Festival begins on the premises of Bangladesh Folk and Craft Foundation in Sonargaon upazila of Narayanganj January 18.

Every year, the fair is organised to promote traditional folk art. This year, 32 shops have been allotted for 64 artisans from different parts of the country. As a result, artisans have been facing problems in terms of the space allotted to them.

The artisans were not aware of this allocation system beforehand which has led to them facing several problems including making crafts and displaying their works.

Apart from this, the organisers have also skimped out on paying the participating artisans an honorarium of Tk 500 per day, unlike the previous years.

This correspondent found Patachitra (traditional, cloth-based scroll painting) artisan Ratan Kumar working on his craft in a corner of his shop. In the other corner, another artisan Birendra Sutradhar was busy with his woodcarving. Both artisans are finding it hard to work properly in such a small space.

Ratan Kumar, a professional artisan from Rajshahi, complained about the lack of space to create his artwork. “We are not just shopkeepers who need to display the products to be sold. We also need space to work on our crafts.”

“The organisers are supposed to work for the development of traditional artisans and craftsmen. With such inconsideration from the organisers, I cannot imagine any growth in this profession,” he further added.

Artisan Rashida Begum runs a small factory in Rangpur employing 50 people who work on jute-made crafts under her.

“This is my first time at the fair but I am having trouble displaying our products and working on crafts due to the small space allocated to two artisans. I brought many boxes full of jute-made crafts but was not able to display even half of them,” she said.

Potter Sushanta Kumar Pal told The Business Post that there is not enough space to set up his pottery wheel or put the clay toys to dry after painting inside the shop.

“It is hard to make a living as a potter nowadays, but all I ask for is the opportunity to work peacefully. I hope next year the organisers will keep this in mind,” he said.

Veteran artisans who have been allocated the shops inside the foundation’s bounds were allegedly told they could not participate in the fair.

Nakshi kantha (traditional embroidered quilt) artisan Hosne Ara said, “I was told that since we rent the shops inside the foundation’s bounds, we will not be permitted to participate in the fair, but we applied for allocations regardless. For the past year, the foundation has also been charging us a rent of Tk 2,000 per month for the shops while it was free for veteran artisans.”

Seeking anonymity, an artisan said, “This fair is supposed to be for promoting traditional folk crafts but some shops have been allocated to traders who copy and mass produce works. The authorities should only allow actual artisans and craftsmen at this fair and not copycats.”

Folk Art and Crafts Foundation Deputy Director Rabiul Islam said, “A total of 100 shops have been allocated for the fair this time. Out of that 32 shops have been given to artisans and the remaining 68 shops have been allocated to entrepreneurs and general traders.”

In regards to allocating one shop to two artisans, he said in order to accommodate the high number of artisans applying for shop space at the fair they allocated the shops this way.

Saheed Kayes, a local poet and cultural activist, the foundation is neglecting their duties of developing the traditional arts of the country. “The officials of the foundation should be more mindful of their actions towards the artisans.”

Meanwhile, the shop allocation system is also leaving a negative impact on the visitors visiting the fair. Due to two different types of products being sold at a small shop, the visitors are finding it difficult to comfortably browse and buy their intended product.

Mobarak Hossain of Siddhirganj area in the district visits the fair every year. “This year I came with my family but the fair seems disorganised this year. Browsing and shopping is a problem due to one shop selling two different types of products.”